Unai Emery asks Arsenal star to pull out of international break

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Sead Kolasinac will not feature for Bosnia-Herzegovina during the international break following a special request from Arsenal. The 25-year-old missed the start of the season due to a knee injury and made his return in Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Qarabag in the Europa League last Thursday. Kolasinac received a call-up from Bosnia-Herzegovina for their upcoming fixtures against Turkey and Northern Ireland. But the Bosnia-Herzegovina Football Federation has confirmed that Arsenal have requested that the defender remains in England to continue his recovery from injury. Arsenal are not in action until they host Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium on October 22.

Following his performance against Qarabag, Kolasinac was criticised for his display by former Arsenal defender Martin Keown. ‘Kolasinac is a player who wants to go forward but he doesn’t want to defend,’ said Keown. ‘He really was a weakness for Arsenal. ‘But he’s not been in the group, he’s not been in the back for, and he’s not picked up the message of what the manager is looking for.’